Tag Archives: Canada

Back in the U.S.A.

Oh the fun we packed into our time together in Canada. This shot of the MGCC was taken at Marg’s house on Wednesday night. It’s always quite special when the 10 of us can get together. Not an easy feat for sure.

On Thursday morning I said goodbye to Canada and was welcomed back into the U.S.A. with a smiling Border Agent who told me to have a nice day.

On Saturday I’m headed to Canada again to a meeting at the MCC Conference in Vancouver. Pretty soon I’ll be speaking Canadian…eh!

Hope you all have a nice day, too!

FFF ~ Cornucopia

My life has been filled to the brim, a type of cornucopia…

cor·nu·co·pi·a [kawr-nuh-koh-pee-uh, -nyuh-]

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a horn containing food, drink, etc., in endless supply, said to have been a horn of the goat Amalthaea.
2. a representation of this horn, used as a symbol of abundance.
3. an abundant, overflowing supply.
4. a horn-shaped or conical receptacle or ornament.
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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story helps us join together in highlighting our blessings (favorites) from this past week. I was missing in action last week so my favorites are from the last couple of weeks.
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My horn of plenty has been filled with family, friends, food, travel, and good fellowship.
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1. I traveled to Sacramento for my friend Kathy’s memorial service and was blessed with time with loved ones and new friends. We cried, laughed, remembered, and ate good food together. I did some homework before I left for Sacramento because I knew I’d be on my own for a few meals. I was pleased with the spots I found online and that I could find them navigating by myself in the rental car.
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2. We’ve been blessed with free hotel stays because of previous paid hotel stays. This really has come in handy. Because of a business trip earlier in the year I was able to get my hotel room in Sacramento for free. For an upcoming  trip in North Carolina our son Dan is sharing his points to give us 5 free nights. Since my daughter and I have to travel on the Monday after Thanksgiving which is costing a fortune, getting the free hotel nights lightens the blow!
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3. Last Friday I was traveling to Canada and that’s why I missed FFF. The Mennonite Girls were participating at the West Coast Women’s Show in the Winks booth and on the Kitchen stage. I was blessed again and again the two days I was there. Anneliese shared her home and kitchen with me…such a blessing. Wendy from Winks gave us a lovely spot to sign books. We were well received by the ladies that paid for the show and watched our kitchen stage presentations.
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4. When I got home from Canada my family room was full of family! Our son from across the mountains traveled to spend a few days with us. We had lots of good times together eating some of our favorite foods and enjoying each others company.
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5. Our daughter Katie got the “phone call” telling her when she needed to be in North Carolina to sign for her and Andrew’s housing. After we all freaked out for several hours we made our travel arrangements and were able to breathe again and relax in knowing that God is always there helping us through the big and small things in our lives. It was a “reality” moment making it clear that soon our nest will really be empty. All the wrap up stuff before Katie leaves is happening. Dear and Katie had a few dancing lessons for the Father and Bride dance. They practiced in our family room last night and I totally teared up. Oye! Life marches on…
I want to be perfectly honest here and let you all know that there was a lot of freaking out stressful moments before God’s calm hit our hearts last Thursday in hearing the “let’s go to North Carolina news!” Thankfully the panic lasted just a couple hours!
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Hope you had a week of knowing you are loved by God and He has his eye on you… “His eye is on the Sparrow and I know he watches me”

Mini Book Tour Mosaics ~

The Mennonite Girls had a very busy Saturday with 6 Canadians traveling across the border from Canada to the U.S.A. Saturday morning.  6 Canadians plus 1 American traveling across the line to Canada Saturday afternoon and 1 American traveling back to the U.S.A. Saturday evening.  Did you follow that?

First stop was at the Bellingham, Washington Barnes and Noble store. I drove north from the Seattle area to join my Canadian friends who traveled south across the border. It was a nice relaxed time of signing books and talking to old friends and new friends. One of our bloggy friends who we had never met face to face, Debora from(Whatsovever Things Are Lovely), stopped by and we had a great time chatting about blogs and adventures we’d like to have in the future.  A dear friend of mine from our former church who lives in the Bellingham area stopped by to have her book signed. Such a fun surprise to see her. Kathy had 2 elderly relatives stop by. They were so sweet and it was so much fun listening to them.

Debora is standing with me behind the girls. In the lower photos in the mosaic are Kathy’s relatives and my friend Cindy.

After our time at Barnes and Noble we decided to stop at the Olive Garden in Bellingham and have some lunch before we all headed across the border to Canada. We had the all you can eat soup and salad. What a great deal for a good meal. Next stop Ten Thousand Villages in Vancouver, Canada.

This and the next mosaic are a combination of both of our book signing stops. The employees at both venues were wonderful. The new friends we met that have enjoyed cooking the recipes in our book were very encouraging. We were blessed to hear stories of courage and success in coming to a new country and thriving. We also heard of goals in the future that were an inspiration.

In this mosaic the top photo is from Ten Thousand Villages on Commercial in Vancouver and the bottom two are from Barnes and Noble in Bellingham.

While we were busy out here in the West our two Prairie Girls were signing books at the Henderson Ten Thousand Villages.

It was a full wonderful day of fun and fellowship.

The girls dropped me off at my car in Canada at a little after 7 P.M. I headed for the border and had one of my best border crossings ever. I stopped at the booth and handed the U.S. Border Agent my passport. He asked me the typical questions. When he asked me why I was in Canada I said I was at a book signing at Ten Thousand Villages. He asked me if I was an author. I told him I was one of 10. He asked me what the name of the book was. I told him Mennonite Girls Can Cook. He smiled real big and said, my wife follows you girls and has made a lot of good stuff. He then patted his Kevlar vest and said he’s put on some weight. I smiled and said, me, too.  Ha! He said wait until I tell my wife…

I’m joining with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Heading North Across the Line…

I’m taking my sweet cheese spread in it’s mold wrapped in cheesecloth to Lepp Farm Market for a cooking demonstration tonight. I will take it out and present it ready to serve with Lovella’s Paska. I have my cross, X & B to press onto the cheese. This is a traditional Russian Easter Treat so it has the Cross to symbolize Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday and the X and B are the first letters in Christ Arose or Christ is Risen in Russian, Христос Воскрес! We love to celebrate the Resurrection! The Mennonite Girls Can Cook are putting on the cooking demo tonight. It will be my first experience doing this. I hope I don’t drop anything…

I’ll be gone all day Thursday and into Friday. See you on the weekend!

 

Dallas Road ~ Victoria, B.C.

 

Meanwhile, back to our Sister weekend in Victoria on Vancouver Island. Pondside gave me the great suggestion of walking along Dallas Road. We started out on Sunday morning after another fabulous breakfast at the Beaconsfield Inn and headed for Ross Bay Cemetery which happens to be on Dallas Road. Lana and I love old cemeteries and this one did not disappoint. My post with many photos from the cemetery will come on another day. Today here are the beautiful views along Dallas Road which we walked on our way back to the Beaconsfield Inn where Pondside would pick us up for our driving tour of Victoria. That post is coming later, also.

Victoria, BC Dallas Road area is an ideal spot for a walk, marine sightseeing, picnics and in the winter the area is a popular gathering spot for storm watching. The mostly paved waterfront walk way follows the coastline all the way to the back door of Beacon Hill Park and continues far beyond leading to sandy beaches.

Flying proof we were in Canada!

There are so many great views in Victoria. My sisters and I appreciated being shown and directed to things we would have never seen on our own.

This week is a full busy week. Today I’ll be in the kitchen for a good chunk of the day. Tomorrow I’ll be on the road. How’s your week going?

 

Minter Gardens ~

…my finale post from the beautiful Fraser Valley and Mennonite Girls Can Cook Summit!

Bev and I arrived to Minter Gardens in style in her cute little Bug!

We started with brunch at the Trillium Restaurant.

So what makes it easy for 10 women all together for the first time ever to be relaxed and enjoy each other? I think it begins with our  faith in God, our savior Jesus Christ, our common comfort food experience, our heritage, and our openness to new adventures. I am aware of what a gift it is to have made this wonderful connection with these beautiful girls.

So this post wraps up my posts of my Mennonite Girls Summit. Till the next time…

Thank you Bev and Harv for opening up your home to me.

Purer in Heart, O God ~ Hymn

Purer in Heart, O God

Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;
May I devote my life wholly to Thee:
Watch Thou my wayward feet,
Guide me with counsel sweet;
Purer in heart, help me to be.

Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;
Teach me to do Thy will most lovingly;
Be Thou my Friend and Guide,
Let me with Thee abide;
Purer in heart, help me to be.

Purer in heart, O God, help me to be;
Until Thy holy face one day I see:
Keep me from secret sin,
Reign Thou my soul within;
Purer in heart, help me to be.

Words: Fannie E. Davison, in Songs of Gra­ti­tude (Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio: 1877).

Harrison Lake Cruise!

The day improved to perfection for our cruise on Harrison Lake. Bev and her husband have the perfect boat for cruising with a crowd on the lake.

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a grateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

 

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Nine passengers set sail that day
For a two hour tour, a two hour tour

Oh no! Where’s Julie? It took me a while on the boat to notice she was missing from the boat tour…

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Bev and Ellen
The Skipper too,
Lovella, Betty, Char
Kathy and Marg…the Social Queens
with Judy and Anneliese,
Here on Gilligans Isle.

No phone, no lights no motor cars,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
As primative as can be.

So join us here each week my friends,
You’re sure to get a smile,
From ten stranded castaways,
Here on “Gilligan’s Isle.”

Thanks for bearing with me in using the good ole Gilligan Island theme song in describing our trip. We were never stranded or in danger and were even treated to wonderful snack on board the “minnow” that Kathy and Marg put together for us. Cheese, fruit, crackers and refreshing drinks were served on board. Another memorable experience with the Mennonite Girls!

 

The Farm Markets Welcomed Us…

We have two farm markets that advertise on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog and it was so much fun for the 10 of us to overwhelm them on Tuesday afternoon. We were treated to special greetings and great tours. I wish they were close enough to me so I could shop there regularly.

We started off at Neufeld Farms where we were greeted warmly with this great sign that an employee made.

There were so many things I would have loved to buy here if I only lived closer.

At Lepp Farm Market we found another willing employee to take on all our cameras for a photo shoot!

We were treated to a great tour that showed us all the wonderful local products that you could buy and enjoy.

Bev bought these baby blossoming zucchinis for us to enjoy at a BBQ at her home on Wednesday Evening.

It was so fun to hear that this great store started as a little corner corn stand!

Oh and our first day in British Columbia it rained all day long with no let up at all! After shlepping about in the rain we headed to Anneliese’s house for our first dinner together. Post coming shortly.